Image via daylife
Soccer is King
Although you might get some skeptical looks from a lot of people in North West England, topping the list for the second straight year is Manchester United, the English Premier League soccer powerhouse undoubtedly has fans, popularity, and revenue streams that are worldwide.
Manchester United’s valuation grew 4% to $1.87 billion between April 2008 and April 2009 on a 9% increase in revenue.
Other billion-dollar soccer clubs include Real Madrid ($1.35 billion), Spain’s historic power, and the Premier League’s Arsenal ($1.2 billion) and Liverpool (just over $1 billion; finishing just out of the top 10).
after the jump, the rest of the top 5….
No. 1 Manchester United – English Premier League
Value: $1.87 billion
Arguably the strongest sports brand in the world, Man-U fetched a record $1.45 billion when Malcolm Glazier bought it in 2005.
No. 2 Dallas Cowboys -NFL
Value: $1.65 billion
No. 3 Washington Redskins – NFL
Value: $1.55 billion
No. 4 New York Yankees – MLB
Value: $1.5 billion
No. 5 New England Patriots – NFL
Value: $1.36 billion
No. 6 Real Madrid – La Liga
Value: $1.35 billion
Santiago Bernabeu, the stadium housing Europe’s most successful soccer club, has gone through extensive renovations that included cutting capacity by about a third. Welcome to the modern sports business model, where revenue per seat trumps total attendance.
No. 7 Arsenal – English Premier League
Value: $1.2 billion
A stadium deal with Emirate Airlines–whose name also adorns the players’ uniforms–brings in $145 million (100 million euros) over eight years.
